University of North Dakota science and engineering faculty of the Sustainable Energy Research Initiative and Supporting Education (SUNRISE) Group have been selected to host a new National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.  It will focus on chemistry undergraduate research that contributes to the advancement of sustainable energy technologies.

For the next three years, this $216,000 grant, under the direction of Evguenii Kozliak, UND Professor of Chemistry, and Wayne Seames, UND Professor of Chemical Engineering, will provide primary funding for a 10-week summer program where undergraduate students from around the United States conduct research and attend weekly program sessions, with an emphasis on publication-quality research projects and the improvement of oral and written communications skills. NSF will support eight undergraduate students for 10 weeks of summer research at UND. Supplemental funds from other sources will allow SUNRISE to host 16 students this summer. 2009 participants come from six nondoctoral institutions: Truman State University, Alma College, Manchester College, Cal Poly Pomona, San Jose State and South Arkansas. plus UND.

In selecting UND, the review panel stated that "the research described in the proposal was found to be well conceived, well funded, topical, and certain to be of interest to undergraduates. The collaboration between scientists and engineers was notable. The prior work of a related UND REU program was judged to be highly successful, especially in regard to publications with participants. The proposed program seems highly likely to equip scientists and engineers to deal with issues concerning global supply and demand of energy."